Captains pitching tames Dragons, 5-1

Luis Lugo and Caleb Hamrick allowed just six hits and one earned run on Saturday.

Lake County left fielder Dorssys Paulino had an impressive day at the plate on Saturday going 3-for-4, while scoring two runs in the Captains 5-1 win over the Dayton Dragons. (Photo credit: Tony Lastoria)

Lefty Luis Lugo (4-4,4.56) countered Dayton right-hander Sal Romano (4-5, 3.42) for the start. Lugo, who had a rough start to his season, was coming off a trio of impressive previous starts. That remained the case on Saturday.

Captains’ catcher Richard Stock put his squad on the board first. Stock smacked his first home run of the year with a three-run shot to right in the fourth inning.

The Dragons responded in their share of the fifth inning as centerfielder Gabriel Rosa knocked his first home run of the year with a solo shot to left, cutting the Captains lead to 3-1.

Not to be outdone, the Captains carried on. With one out, left fielder Dorssys Paulino and second baseman Claudio Bautista hit a pair of back-to-back singles. Stock’s successful night continued as he followed with a single to score Paulino. That ended the evening for Romano, who was replaced with reliever Scott Brattvet. Brattvet’s evening did not start well as he tossed a wild pitch that allowed Bautista to score, giving the Captains the 5-1 advantage.

Meanwhile, Lugo lasted five innings, surrendering just the one run on three hits and seven strikeouts. He was replaced with Caleb Hamrick, who notched a nice outing despite a rough season.

Hamrick tossed four scoreless innings and yielded three hits and a pair of walks while he struck out two.

The Lake County offense was quieted by Dayton reliever Joe Bender for the final inning, but Hamrick needed no help as he sealed the Captains with the 5-1 win.

Next, the Captains and Dragons complete their series on Sunday with a 2:05 PM start. Lake County will turn to Mitch Brown (0-6, 4.58) to make the start. Dayton’s starter has yet to be announced.

Stephanie is a crime and general assignment reporter for The Morning Journal in Lorain, Ohio. She’s an alumna of Cleveland State University with a degree in Journalism and Promotional Communication. You can follow her on Twitter @7thInningSteph.

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